FREE FALLBuffy has started her life in San Francisco with a coffee shop job and two new roommates: Anaheed and Tumble. They throw a house-warming party in their new apartment and Buffy wakes up the next morning naked and trying to remember what happened. She remembers bits and pieces of her friends coming over and talking with a few (she warns Spike that her roommates don’t know about vampires). Buffy wakes up with an awful hangover and eventually faces her roommates, who really like her friends. Later that night on patrol, Will and Spike warn her that something is after her. A demon appears to collect on her student loans.

The demon explains that he got trapped in their world when the seed was destroyed. Buffy gives him all the money she has, which isn’t much. Willow points out that Buffy needs to think about how the destruction of the seed impacted everyone whose magic wasn’t internal before she leaves. Spike tries to convince her that worse is coming. Buffy saves a guy being attacked by a vampire by slaying it. She is caught by two detective that have been finding dead, unaged missing persons from the mid twentieth century. They bring her in thinking she is killing them because they are vampires. She escapes and goes to Dawn and Xander’s place. They tell her she can’t stay because they are having problems. She talks briefly with Spike before going to patrol. She saves the same guy from earlier from another vampire, and he says he is like her. She follows the vampire into an alley filled with them. The guy snaps the vampire’s neck and it becomes a corpse like the ones the detectives have been finding.

Severin introduces himself and Buffy drags him to his place (fancy apartment) to sleep. The next morning, he tells her his girlfriend wanted to become a vampire and he wanted to be with her. However, when she turned, she was feral and attacked him. When he touched her, it sucked all the mystical energy out leaving just a corpse. Buffy calls a Scooby meeting, but only Dawn and Xander show up. Buffy calls Willow from Dawn’s cell phone to tell her she has to deal with the consequences of destroying the seed. Together, they find out the vampires created after the seed was destroyed can only be controlled by demons from another dimension, making them zombie-vampires (zompires). Dawn and Xander ask Buffy to deal with the police looking for her first. Buffy and Severin go to clean out a nest instead. On the way he explains he gets stronger with each one he kills. Spike goes to Alcatraz and finds a demon, Eldre Koh, that was released from a mystical bind when the seed was destroyed. He wants to help Buffy. He says it is the Siphon that is after her.

Buffy starts fighting off Severin, who blames her for his girlfriend’s death by changing the world. The police show up and surround the building. Severin plans on leaving her powerless in a room full of corpses for the police to find. They crash through the floor and into the basement where there are more vampires for Severin to absorb. Detective Dowling makes his way into the building and meets Spike and Koh. THey tell him to get the cops out of there so they can save Buffy. They drop down to the basement from the hole in the floor, but are about useless against Severin as they are both mystical beings. The detective returns and shoots Severin three times in the chest. Buffy’s name is cleared (though her roommates found her weapons) and Willow comes to pick her up. Severin is in a hospital bed and Simone is with him. He asks for a taste of her power, but she says she will need all of her energy.

Buffy starts having strange dreams and the first slayer makes an appearance to tell her she is not the slayer. She tells Willow about them and she comes to watch over Buffy while she sleeps. The small fairy-like creature that was underground with one of the fake Buffys appears. She wanted to punish her for impersonating her Buffy until she realized that she is now talking to the real Buffy. She lets the first slayer get her message across. The broken scythe might be the key to fixing everything. Willow appears to take it. The fairy tells Buffy that she is no longer a girl. Buffy wakes up and goes to the bathroom. Her roommates knock on the door to tell her they don’t feel safe living with her while she reads a positive sign on a pregnancy test.

ON YOUR OWNDawn comes over to comfort Buffy, but Buffy has someone else in mind to help her make some decisions. She goes to talk to Robin Wood about what it was like growing up with a slayer for a mom. He explains that Nikki’s watcher, Crowley, had planned it out so they could leave the slaying behind. It only lasted about a year before she was right back in New York City slaying vampires. He thinks Buffy will be able to do what his mom couldn’t because she is different (raised Dawn, lead an army, etc). Spike does a ride-a-long with Detective Dowling to teach him about vampires. After he explains his connection to the slayer, Dowling knows that Spike is still in love with Buffy and tells him to tell her. Buffy asks Spike to meet her so they can talk. She tells him she wants an abortion and asks him to go with her.

The roommates, Anaheed and Tumble, vote to have Buffy keep living with them, but her things are already packed. She gets onto the bug space ship with Spike. She explains that she decided not to run away with him because she can’t get away from the slaying. She isn’t ready for a baby yet and Spike would be the sort of thing she’d be running from. Spike gets a call from Dowling, who has stumbled on a nest of zompires. Spike tells Buffy to stay behind while he fights them off, but she drops in to save the detective. When the fight is over, Spike admits that he is still in love with Buffy. She is shocked. They are both surprised when her arm is ripped off and it is revealed she is actually a robot.

Dowling has to ID his partner’s body in the morgue. Eventually he makes his way to Dawn and Xander’s place. He is drunk and wonders about the state of the world. Spike and Buffy go to Andrew to find her real body. He explains he roofied her and did a mind swap with the Buffy-bot to keep the assassin on her. THey get in the spaceship to go to suburbia to get the real Buffy body, but Simone beats them there and kidnaps her.

Xander and Dawn take Dowling to deal with his partner-turned zompire. She has already killed most of the morgue. Dawn loses her phone in a dumpster and then waits out front with someone they found alive. Xander and Dowling are able to find and stake the zompire. Buffy admires how much work ANdrew put into her suburban disguise. She is slightly jealous. As they track Buffy’s body, Andrew explains that suburban Buffy doesn’t know she is a slayer and acted like Buffy would if she weren’t one. When they land, they split up to find her. Buffy finds the necklace they used to track the body and then is hit over the head by her.

Buffy wakes up to find her body has already been fed a whole lot of lies about the situation. Simone leaves them to duke it out. Spike fights Simone. Buffy is able to beat her body and explains what is really going on. Simone is able to escape the two Buffys and Spike. Spike tells Buffy that he has to leave because he can’t get over her if he keeps staying around her. he asks her to come with him, but she declines. She offers her body the opportunity to go back to the suburbs, but she didn’t feel right there. Back in San Francisco, she quits her job. Dowling also gives his resignation. He strongly believes he needs to be fighting the supernatural forces.

GUARDEDBuffy fails a training scenario Kennedy puts her in before she will be allowed to become a body guard. She can’t seem to get out of slayer mode and follow orders. Buffy feels like she needs to be doing more than being a body guard. She goes on patrol and a zompire is staked out from under her by a police officer. Detective Dowling has organized a new division to deal with the. Buffy returns to Kennedy for her first mission. They are protecting Theo Daniels, who explains Wolfram and Hart is trying to kill him.

Theo built a social networking site for demons called TinCan. The site uses demon technology to allow inter-dimensional travel. Theo thinks Wolfram and Hart can use it to get to their world. He wants to destroy the servers to prevent that. They go to headquarters, but when they see the endless amount of tentacles of a Teuth demon, Buffy asks Koh for help. He agrees to pay his debt to her (even though she declined to help him find his captor). Kennedy ends up killing the Teuth with a grenade. Theo hesitates destroying his life’s work. Koh takes the opportunity to tell Wolfram and Hart’s conduits that he will kill Theo if they tell him who imprisoned him.

It is going to take Wolfram and Hart some time before they can give Koh answers. Theo tells Buffy to leave him and make sure TinCan is destroyed. Buffy finds Kennedy and fills her in. Kennedy accuses Buffy of always forgetting about the little guy (mentioning Giles) and Buffy gives her a black eye. They go underground to keep from being seen by the cameras already tied into the system. Wolfram and Hart find the information for Koh, but he refuses to kill Theo until they send it to him. Buffy and Kennedy show up. Buffy fights Koh while Kennedy takes Theo to destroy the server. The message isn’t able to transmit. Koh leaves and the rest get out before the overheating severs explode. Kennedy offers Buffy a promotion, but Buffy turns it down.

A boy named Billy has been having a hard time being gay. His parents kicked him out and he lives with his grandma, Sky. He sits on a car near the airport with his friend Katie and talks about boy possibilities, but know he doesn’t really have any options. Two bullies, Garon and Post, pick on him on his way home. The next day he starts training like a boxer. A guy named Devon (who Billy and Katie call “Cute Devon”) comes by to talk to him. On his way home from school, he is bullied by Garon. However, Post is now a zompire and kills garon. Devon pulls Billy onto a roof and Billy kicks Post away, knocking him out. They make it to Billy’s room, but a zompire breaks through the wall and attacks. Billy stakes it with a piece of dresser drawer. Devon is convinced that Billy would be a good slayer and volunteers to be his watcher. Billy agrees.

Devon starts training Billy. He takes him out one night to show him a nest, though he doesn’t think Billy is ready for that yet. They make it back to Billy’s house. Devon is about to tell him how he feels when Billy sees the library his grandma volunteers at is under attack by zompires. Devon tries to stop Billy from going, but his slayer sets off alone. As Billy is breaking into the library, Devon joins him, explaining that he cares too much to let him go in alone. They end up in a room across the lobby from where the survivors are trapped. They draw too much attention trying to cross. Billy fights off and stakes the zompires while Devon helps the survivors. Buffy comes to recruit them.

WELCOME TO THE TEAMBuffy, Billy, and Dowling have teamed up to take out zompires in San Francisco. They find a female siring and try to kill her, but she seems much stronger than the others. She gets away just before sunrise. Billy goes to do research while Buffy visits Dawn, who is sick with the flu. Dawn and Xander ask if she and Dowling are dating. That night, she meets up with Dowling and Billy to take out a nest near their previous night encounter. Buffy is teleported out mid-fight by Illyria who tells her she must join their council or die.

Billy blames himself for Buffy’s disappearance and Dowling’s near death experience. He calls Xander and Dawn to the hospital. Xander offers to stay and watch over the detective and Dawn decides to stay with him because his temper hasn’t been in check lately. While the doctor tells Xander that Dowling will be fine, Dawn tries to get his attention. When Xander does turn around, Dawn collapses and isn’t breathing. D’Hoffryn and several other demons make up the council. They are worried about how much power the Siphon has collected since she last faced him. Buffy realizes this may have something to do with the super-zompire and agrees to help. Illyria brings in Koh as their backup. When they arrive, Severin is waiting for them.

Xander calls Andrew for help, but he doesn’t know what is wrong with Dawn either. He does know that her body is failing and they need to get her mind into the Buffy-bot just incase they can’t save her. They sneak her out of the hospital. Meanwhile, Severin goes directly for Illyria to steal her power. She gets herself and then Buffy and Koh out of there. Buffy explains that Severin thinks he will be able to go back in time and save his girlfriend if he takes Illyria’s power. They decide to use her as bait and have her bring in Buffy and Koh when he touches her. However, once the plain is underway, Illyria sends them to the wrong place.

The Siphon takes all of Illyria’s powers. Buffy takes her and Koh back to her place after the council says they are going into hiding. Tumble tells them Xander has been calling about Dawn. They go to see her and Andrew explains that the transfer into the Buffy-bot isn’t working. Illyria points out that mystical energy is leaving Dawn’s body. Buffy realizes it is because Dawn was made magically. Billy tires to find Buffy and Anaheed saves him from zompires. She reveals that she is a slayer, one of the ones that didn’t turn on Buffy when the seed was destroyed. Xander blames Buffy for the events that lead up to her having to destroy the seed.

Xander can’t deal with his anger at Buffy, so he goes home. Severin brings Xander to him. He and Simone make him an offer. They need to get the Vampyr book Giles left Buffy. With it Severin can go back in time to prevent Twilight from happening. No one will know what happened and Buffy won’t have to destroy the seed. Willow returns with the Scythe and some limited magic. She tries to help Dawn, but isn’t sure she can.

THE COREWillow tries to help Dawn while Buffy takes the sidelines waiting out of the way. Xander appears out of nowhere badly beaten and says Simone dropped him off. He tells her about their offer to keep Buffy from destroying the seed and his refusal to betray her. He remembers that Buffy died to save Dawn in the past and knows she will continue to fight that hard. There is an explosion and Buffy and Xander run inside to check on Willow and Dawn. Willow says she has the right spell, but not enough power to fully bring Dawn back. Xander says Simone and Severin wanted the Vampyr book Giles left Buffy, so Buffy sends for it. Willow reads about the power stored in the Deeper Well (filled with old ones' sarcophagi). Dawn begs Xander not to go with them as the magic and her memories continue to drain out of her. He tells her Buffy and Willow need him. D'Hoffryn and the rest of the council is at one entrance to the Deeper Well in England. The rest of the council in New Zealand goes to help them fight them off. Simone and Severin are left with one demon guarding the entrance.

Buffy has her scythe for the first time since she destroyed the seed. While Buffy and Willow fight off the council demons protecting the Deeper Well, Simone and Severin defeat the one demon left at the New Zealand entrance. They text Xander that they need more time. Spike tries to convince Dawn to let him into her room. He admits he can't bring back her memories, but he can comfort her like she has always done for him. Devon and Katie are in a house surrounded by zompires that don't need an invitation to get in. They call Billy, Anaheed, and Andrew for backup and tell them what is going on. When Billy hears this, he has to go home and Anaheed agrees. Done with revenge, Illyria and Koh show up to help Buffy get into the well. Spike starts telling Dawn about her life. He runs to Andrew for a tape recorder because he is starting to forget her as she fades. Billy and Anaheed ask Spike to get a message to Buffy. He tells them to be quick so that he can record his memories of Dawn. As the council calls in more reinforcements, Buffy comes up with a plan to get Willow into the well. Xander tells her to stop before she gets herself killed. He admits that he told Severin and Simone the other location. Illyria tells them even when she was a god, she would not be able to do what Severin, the Siphon, is attempting. Xander tries to tell them he did it to save Dawn. Buffy is furious he didn't have faith in her and that now they have to save the world again.

The council lets Buffy and her gang into the Deeper Well to help them defeat the Siphon before he absorbs the magic and destroys the world. Buffy tells them her priority is her sister and she will help them after she saves Dawn. Spike searches the entire tape he recorded, but can't find anything on it. Dawn shows him she is starting to disappear. A zen demon keeps Xander from joining the fight and tells him he needs to stay out of the way. Spike calls him to give him his last chance to talk to Dawn, who everyone is quickly forgetting. Xander tells her even if everyone else forgets her, she will always be a part of him. Spike tells him Simone has been turning slayers into vampire-slayers. Simone abandons Severin for her own reunion. She finds a sarcophagus and gives it her blood. Soon after, Buffy and Willow find the same one open while following Willow's light. Willow recognizes it as Maloker's tomb, the greater demon that created the first vampires. Willow promises Buffy she will rescue Dawn and sends the slayer back to help the council. Illyria and Koh continue down to stop the Siphon while the council fights to off the massive demon, Maloker. Xander comes to warn Buffy about Simone turning Slayers into zompires. They start to wonder why since she plans on Severin turning back time. They find Simone's body and then Simone attacks in her new body.

Simon is pleased with her decision to release Maloker and become a demon as she fights off Buffy and Xander. She expalins that she was waiting to find a vampire to use that wasn't as week as the ones above. She thanks Buffy for destroying the seed and making her one of the most powerful beings on Earth. Xander hits Simone with a rock, but she easily grabs him and throws him down into the well. Buffy tries to follow, but Simone holds her back. Willow continues on following her magic detector to get to what she needs to save Dawn. Something rips out of her and she soon sees that she has given birth to a new seed. The seed tells her that magic will return to the world in a few millennia. Xander falls into Koh and frees him from Maloker's grasp. Illyria reaches Severin and tells him what he is doing and how he will destroy the world. Willow meets them with the seed and has an idea to help them both. Illyria takes the seed and tells Willow to go out so she can save Dawn. Willow starts to climb and finds Xander along the way. She tells them they have to get out before Severin makes the entire place explode. Koh tells them to start climbing while he continues to fight Maloker. Simone appears with the steak end of the scythe holding Buffy up through her shoulder.

Willow sees the staff that one of the council members used to get them down into the well. If she can get to it, she can get them out. Buffy, Xander, and Koh work together to distract Maloker. Simone makes her retreat out of the well knowing Severin is about to explode. Willow eventually gets to the staff and uses it to raise everyone upward. Simone sees them and jumps on Buffy to knock them both back into the well. Willow knows she has to keep taking them up so they can save Dawn. Severin explodes and channels the energy into the seed to successfully bring magic back to the world. Buffy crawls out of the well to join her friends. Back in San Francisco, Willow uses Buffy's blood to complete the spell to bring Dawn back. Xander feels guilty for betraying Buffy, but Buffy explains without his betrayal, the seed would have taken millennia to bring magic back and Dawn would have died. Buffy looks at the Vampyr book Giles left her and it is now blank. A redhead (Simone?) wakes up in San Rosita, CA. She is a vampire (zompire?) and immune to the sunlight flowing in through the ceiling at the mall. She turns herself into a bat and flies off.

Sky, Devon (Billy's boyfriend/watcher), and Katie pick up Billy and Anaheed from the airport. Billy and Devon go to Devon's house to clear it out before the zompires take it over. Upstairs, Devon gives Billy a shirt with several loops to put stakes through. Billy remembers Buffy saying it could be dangerous to fight alongside someone you love because you would always be trying to protect each other. Billy tries to break it off with Devon gently, but Devon is upset. Zompires start to come in through the ceiling and Billy fights them off. They go downstairs where Devon's dad is trying to fight them off with a shotgun. Suddenly, the zompires are coming up from the basement as well and take out the floor. Sky and Katie add stakes to the front of Sky's van to kill zompires as they drive. They drive into the house and fall into the basement with the others. Devon is separated and surrounded by zompires. Anaheed holds Billy back, telling him he will not be able to get to Devon. Billy has a vision of the first slayer using fire to defend her cave. He lights a torch out of his stake and uses it to kill the zompires and rescue Devon. The group uses fire to protect the house. Billy realizes his love for Devon ended up helping them all rather than distracting him.

Cinder is a mechanic in New Beijing. She waits int he shop for her spunky android friend, Iko, to return with her new foot. The baker, Sacha, pulls her child away from the store because Cinder is a cyborg. Suddenly, Prince Kaito of the Eastern Commonwealth comes to find the best mechanic in New Beijing. He is surprised to find a young girl. Cinder looks over his android and tells him she will look at it. He says he will return to check on it. A short while after he leaves, people in the streets start screaming. Sacha has the plague. Shops start closing up and Cinder rolls down their metal door. She puts a rag over her mouth and stay in the corner.

Men in rubber suits come to burn down Sacha’s booth. Cinder uses the distraction to sneak out and avoid quarantine. Back home, her adoptive mother (she refers to as her stepmother), Adri, is having her daughters fitted for dresses to wear to the festival. Adri demands Cinder fix the hover with her own money before the festivities. She promises to let Cinder go if she does and gets herself a dress as well. Cinder’s indicator shows that her stepmom is lying. Pearl, the oldest daughter, suggests they volunteer Cinder to the cyborg draft (medical research to cure the plague). The queen has already died and the Prince appears on a broad cast to say the King is not doing well.

Cinder goes through her tools in the apartment’s basement to get what she needs for the junkyard. Iko starts to get excited about Cinder going to the ball, but Cinder explains she isn’t going. She tries to make herself feel better by listing the things she would rather buy than a dress. Peony (the younger daughter) comes in to escape her mother. cinder has to keep her from ruining her dress with all the grease that is covering everything. Peony is upset Cinder won’t go to the ball with them and that her mother didn’t buy her a dress. She gives Iko a piece of ribbon and ties it around her wrist joint. Peony asks to go to the junkyard with them. Cinder agrees and sends her to change out of her dress before they leave.

As Cinder looks for a magbelt inside an old hover, Iko and Peony fantasize about the prince choosing them. Peony mentions a rumor that Prince Kai is having the ball to find a bride. She mentions another rumor that the Prince may marry Queen Levana. The Lunar Queen is said to be horrible and has killed many people to get the throne and keep it. Cinder has heard of the Lunars evolving beyond humans to be able to use mind control to feed their greed. Moving on, cinder is shocked to find an old gasoline car. She dreams of restoring it and using it to get away. Peony is disgusted with it and its horrible condition. Cinder goes to brush some dirt off of Peony and they realize there are bruised marks on her. She has letumosis.

Peony starts screaming and crying in the middle of the junk yard. Cinder doesn’t know what to do. She wonders if she gave the plague to her sister from the market. She goes to hold Peony and comfort her, but Peony pushes her away and tells her to go so she isn’t taken to quarantine. While she is fleeing, Cinder runs into medical droids. They take her blood and she determine she is not a carrier. They take Peony away on a gurney. She waves at Cinder before she is gone.

Cinder arrives back home. Adri and Pearl are waiting up for her with three emergency medical droids. Adri sends Iko to dispose of anything Peony has worn in the past week. She blames Cinder even though she is not a carrier. Cinder tries to explain, but Adri won’t hear it. Sh has volunteered Cinder for the cyborg draft to help find a cure. Since her late husband, Garan, was the one who wanted Cinder (before he left for Europe and died), Adri has no remorse about giving her up. The droids shay her loved ones will be paid for their sacrifice. Cinder refuses to go with them. She uses the magbelt to take out two droids before the third one shocks her, forcing her brain to shut down.

Dr. Erland tells his assistant, Fateen, to send a 32 year old man home with a placebo because he is too old and has a son. He is looking for someone young, healthy, and having a higher ratio machine parts. Fateen points out he seems to let the men go, but keeps the young women. Li, another assistant, comes to get Dr. Erland to show him Cinder. She is what he has been looking for.

Cinder has a reoccurring nightmare where her body is on hot coals. This time, there are limbless people all around her with blueish spots. Peony is there and blaming her for getting sick. Cinder wakes up as her control panel reboots. A med droid hooks wires into her control panel and her body is diagramed on a screen. She protests that she did not volunteer, but the man behind the mirrored window doesn’t seem to care. He explains they will inject her with the letumosis microbes they will track through her body. Then they will give her antibodies and hope they work. Cinder struggles , but there is nothing she can do as she is injected with the disease.

Dr. Erland and his assistants watch the microbes of the plague make their way through Cinder’s body. They notice a chip-like piece on one of the metal vertebrae in her neck. When Dr. Erland zooms back out on the diagram of her whole body, he notices on of the microbes they are tracking as disappeared. As they watch, more disappear. Dr. Erland wants another blood sample, especially since they haven’t given her the antidote yet. he tells Fateen and Li to move her to a different lab and to untie her once they are all gone. He wants to meet with her in private.

The med-droid takes more blood from Cinder before wheeling her off to a new exam room as ordered by a female voice over an intercom. Once there, the restraints are removed and her belongings are returned. Dr. Erland comes in to talk wit her. She notices he isn’t wearing a mask. She wants to hit him over the head with the wrench she took out of her calf compartment. An orange light appears in her vision as she feels that she doesn’t want to hurt the kind looking old man. She drops the wrench and he asks her to sit so they can talk.

Dr. Erland explains to Cinder that she is immune to letumosis. He wants to use her to find a cure. He asks about her past and she tells him she doesn’t remember anything before the accident that made her a cyborg, but knows that she is from Europe. Cinder points out that she is strictly a volunteer and makes a few demands - money her guardian can’t get to, freedom, and Peony is cured right after the emperor. He agrees.

Prince Kai watches over his dying father who has only been sick for five days. Konn Torin (father’s longtime advisor) wants to start planning for Kai to take over as emperor. Kai leaves to go see Dr. Erland. The Lunar ambassador, Sybil Mira, head thaumaturge to the Lunar Crown, is there in the hallway to great him. She hopes Kai will agree to the Queen’s terms for peace, but he assures her he won’t overturn any of his father’s decisions. Once the Lunars are away, Torin tries to convince Kai to think about what he will do. Kai refuses to marry the queen. He has been thinking about the rumors - Princess Selene (Queen Channary’s daughter/Queen Levana’s niece, the rightful heir to Luna) may have survived the fire she was said to have died in. People have said they spotted her living on Earth. Torin points out even if she is alive, the bloodline would cause her to be just as bad as the rest of her family. He points out they shouldn’t look into it at the risk of upsetting Queen Levana. Kai storms off to the labs.

Dr. Erland tells Cinder about her body (very complex control panel, reproductive system in tact, and an odd material on the metal vertebrae in her neck). She asks how quickly her body would kill the disease. He says it took about 20 minutes this time and probably would have taken about an hour the previous time. She is slightly relieved that Peony probably didn’t get letumosis from her. The doctor has a few theories as to why she is immune. Cinder wants to start helping people, but he wants to try something to help him understand her. He presses a finger to the odd spot on her neck and she erupts into pain.

Cinder wakes up on the floor to her system rebooting. Kai is there and worried about her. She tires to keep her cyborg pieces covered from him as he helps her up. Dr. Erland lies to the prince and tells him he was adjusting Cinder’s spine with chiropractic techniques. Kai asks about his droid. Dr. Erland takes this clue and says Cinder is just there to fix a med-droid. She says she will get to the prince’s droid before the festival. Dr Erland excuses her and she says she will be back the next day. He agrees. Cinder leaves chiding herself for babbling. She resigns herself to not think about Kai; or at least try not to.

Cinder downloads a map of the palace’s research wing to find her way out she is impressed with the view of New Beijing from a window above the city. She dreads going home,but does so anyway. Adri is not happy to see her. Cinder says she did not meet their criteria and was sent home before slamming the door to her closet of a room. She and Iko make their way to the basement (where Iko has stored Peony’s festival dress). Cinder starts making a list of things she needs to do to get out of there. She wants to buy and fix up the old gasoline car. She also sees the prince’s droid she needs to fix.

Prince Kai runs through the halls to get to the visiting room next to his father’s sick room. He doesn’t get there in time; the emperor is already dead. Torin is there and says they will hold a press conference in the morning so the Commonwealth can mourn with them. A comm comes in from Queen Levana. She is covered by a veil (supposedly the Earthens are not worthy of her beauty) and gives her sympathies. She intends to visit and will have Sybil make the arrangements for her stay (removing all mirrors). Kai doesn’t want to deal with her, but Torin points out he must to maintain peace.

Cinder and Iko make a late night trip to the junkyard to get the car. They hide it in a corner of the apartment’s garage so she can work on it. The next morning, Cinder takes a blanket and comms for a hover. She goes to the quarantine outside of town and finds Peony in one of the many beds. Cinder gives her the blanket and tells her how they are trying to use her immunity to make an antidote. She promises to bring Peony her port screen so she can talk to her mom and Pearl. On her way out, Cinder hears the baker, Sacha, call her name. Sacha asks Cinder to bring her son and then she dies. A med-droid comes to remove her ID chip and put it in a bloody pile with many others.

While Cinder is in the elevator at the research wing of the palace, Prince Kai joins her. He makes some small talk with her until they start running into people giving their condolences. She checks her net screen to see the emperor has died. She apologizes. He tells her about the Lunar queen coming to visit as well. He asks after his droid and indicates his childhood tutor holds very important information. She promises to look at it as soon as possible. When they reach Dr. Erland, he says he doesn’t want to give false hope and will update Kai when he knows more. Kai kisses Cinder’s hand before leaving. He quickly returns and asks her to the ball. She declines because that is the night she and Iko are planning to run away. Kai leaves after bidding her a very formal and cold goodbye.

Cinder asks why Dr. Erland didn’t tell the prince she is a cyborg. He skates around an answer and figures the prince will eventually find out if he keeps taking an interest in her. She asks about the ID cards. The doctor explains they are sold legally and are constantly in high demand. Thieves and refugees use them. He tells her about Lunars hiding on Earth. They use bioelectricity to manipulate others (any living being has bioelectricity). The removal of the mirrors is because they have no biological makeup and can’t be deceived. They have been killing the “shell” children at the queen’s command because those without the gift can’t be controlled. Some parents went through great lengths to get their children to Earth. Like migrating people often do, they brought the letumosis disease with them. When Dr. Erland learns Queen Levana is arriving, he tells Cinder she has to stay away from the palace until she is gone because Cinder is a Lunar refugee. Cinder has a difficult time accepting this.

When Queen Levana lands, Prince Kai and Torin are in her small welcome party. She comes out of her ship and a second-tier thaumaturge lifts her veil. Kai welcomes her and reminds himself her beauty is only an illusion. He feels her trying to manipulate how he feels about her and has to dig his nails into his palms to keep his mind straight. Sybil says she will take the queen to her room and the Lunars leave them. Torin warns Kai that it will get worse.

Cinder is in the basement at her work desk. She has opened up the prince’s droid to see what is wrong. Iko comes in wearing Adri’s pearls and lipstick (though she doesn’t have a mouth) wanting to help. Cinder checks the tutor droid’s hardware and everything seems to be fine. Iko points out an odd chip in the back. Cinder pulls it out and sees it is a direct-comm chip (expired technology; used for privacy during comm’ed conversations, but took too much bandwidth). She puts it in a port and it tells her the direct communication can’t be established. With the chip removed, the droid starts up. She talks about the rumors of Princess Selena. cinder tells her to stop and asks about the d-comm chip. The droid has no idea. Cinder tells her to get caught up on the events of the past few days.

Ignoring Dr. Erland’s warning, Cinder takes Nainsi to the palace. There are a lot of people gathered to protest the arrival of Queen Levana. Cinder goes to the guard, but he only lets Nainsi through. When Cinder insists, the droid says she will have Kai comm her a pass to get in. Queen LEvana appears on a balcony and Cinder feels her bioelectric influence making everyone love her. Cinder’s orange (lying) indicator flashes to bring her out of the brainwashing. She stumbles and draws the queen’s attention. Cinder wonders why she wasn’t immune to the queen’s power like a shell is supposed to be.

Prince Kai does not approve Queen Levana brainwashing his people. She trivializes the action and says New Beijing is in violation of their current agreement by harboring a Lunar fugitive. Kai tries to assure her they have never heard of this before. Levana insists all fugitives be found and brought to her. Kai has trouble being diplomatic, so Torin makes the promise. She then gives him a gift: the letumosis antidote. She says her scientists can start producing it for a fee. Kai is outraged and Levana says it was only a confirmed antidote right before her ship left for Earth. Nainsi comes into the room and Kai uses her as an excuse to leave. Once alone, he asks about Cinder. Nainsi tells him she is waiting at the gate.

Cinder is waiting outside the gate when a droid comes to let her in and takes her to Kai. He asks her to walk with him to see Dr. Erland. She tells him what was wrong with Nainsi and they determine Sybil probably put the chip in and now knows Kai is looking for Princess Selena. They are in an elevator about to exit onto their floor when Kai asks her to the ball again. She pushes him back into the elevator for privacy. She tells him she won’t go because of Peony. He gets really close and asks if ruining one life is worth saving the world. Cinder answers it would be worth ruining her own life. He resigns himself to a ruined life and goes to kiss Cinder. She collapses in pain (like when Dr. Erland touched the chip on the back of her neck). Kai flinches away when he thinks he sees something, but tells her he imagined it.

Kai gets Cinder to Dr. Erland, but has to leave shortly after giving him the antidote. The doctor scolds Cinder for coming. She tells him the queen already saw her and her glamour worked on her. Dr. Erland tells her the chip in her neck is to keep Cinder’s bioelectric abilities dormant. If she had grown up with them, she would have drawn too much attention, especially without knowing how to control it. Her adoptive father used her as a guinea pig to protect her. He lets slip that he is Lunar. He tells her he come to Earth because his daughter was taken from him because she was a shell. He hasn’t used his power and as a result, his mind is going. Her glamour is starting to overpower the chip. He says she might experience the crippling pain in extreme emotional situations. He gives her part of the antidote to give to Peony and makes her promise not to come back to the palace while the queen is there.

Kai meets with the world leaders through secure direct comms. He confirms Queen Levana is on Earth to work out a peace agreement. They know she will require a royal marriage. Africa points out the Commonwealth isn’t the only monarchy. Someone suggests Princess Winder is eligible instead of Levana, but the Princess doesn’t actually have royal blood, so Levana will be looking to make an heir herself. America shows pictures of a mutant army the Lunars are massing. Kai thinks Levana is trying to threaten him.

Cinder rushes to quarantine in order to give the antidote to Peony. She is too late and her sister dies in her arms unable to drink the vial’s contents. She sees the baker’s son and gives it to him to drink. A med-droid comes for Peony’s chip, but Cinder destroys it and takes the chip herself. She runs away and is found by a police hover. Adri reported her as disappearing unauthorized. They are to return her to her stepmom.

Kai eats with his Lunar guests in the dinning hall. when the main course is served, Queen Levana’s plate is uncovered to reveal a mirror. She moves away from it and Sybil gives a knife to the servant that brought out the tray. She intends to make the woman put the knife through her eye. Kai says he had the mirror put there as a joke. Levana lets the servant go and dismisses herself from the table. She tells Kai she also knows how to pick her battles in war. When she is gone, they look at the mirror and see it is Lunar. A man comes to tell them about a disturbance at quarantine and a child that is recovering.

Adri is furious with Cinder. She went through Iko’s memory to find out Cinder spent 600 univs on her new foot. She has been tracking Cinder and questions her visit to the palace and the hover rideCinder tries to explain to her without telling the truth. However, her stepmom will not hear anything because she is mad that Cinder is alive and Peony is dead. Cinder Realizes it is the Lunars fault the plague came to Earth. She offers to by Peony a gravestone. Adri brushes her off and bans her from the ball or anywhere she doesn’t approve first. She tells Cinder she has to give up her foot as well. Cinder goes to her room to find Iko destroyed. She finds the droid’s personality chip in the mess.

Cinder sits at her festival booth because Adri makes her. She declines new work knowing she won’t be there long enough to complete it. Kai comes to visit knowing it will probably be the last time they will see each other. He gives her a gift that she tries to refuse. Pearl shows up and demands Cinder take car of her boxes from shopping. The prince calls her out on her lack of manners before leaving. Cinder pretends Kai is only a client, but Pearl sees through the lie. She grabs the wrapped gift and opens it to find long white silk gloves. Pearl realizes the prince doesn’t know Cinder is a cyborg. When Pearl starts ranting that is the only reason the prince looks at her, Cinder points out the prince barely noticed Pearl. Her stepsister throws Cinder’s new gloves on the ground and dumps a toolbox over them. Cinder tries to rescue them, but they are permanently stained with grease.

Cinder has to limp the whole way home from the festival because Adri and Pearl left her behind to clean up her booth. Pearl decides to mock Cinder by asking which shoes she should wear. Cinder mentions the Prince’s promise to dance with Peony. Pearl says she is going to tell the prince all about Cinder. Adri sends Cinder to wash the hover. She goes to the garage and washes as she watches Kai’s coronation. Afterwards he gives a speech saying he will do whatever it takes to end the war against the letumosis plague. The Lunars that aren’t veiled seem very smug.

Cinder starts packing up everything she plans to take with her. She starts to cut out her ID chip when the net-screen she has the d-comm in finally answers. A girl with a ridiculous amount of blonde hair says her mistress, Sybil, forced her to spy on the emperor. She tells Cinder that Levana plans to marry Kai, kill him, and then start a war with the rest of Earth. The queen knows Kai is looking for Princess Selena and thinks he wants her to usurp Levana. The blonde girl confirms Princess Selena is alive and on Earth. Cinder takes the d-comm chip with her to go to the ball to warn Kai.

After getting into Peony’s dress and the gloves from Kai, Cinder finds her old misfitted foot and attaches it. She wears the boots Pearl decided against. Cinder gets in the old gasoline car and drives it to the palace. She walks in trying not to be noticed and sees Kai dancing with Levana. Pearl gets the attention of the new emperor and they talk. A servant scans Cinder’s ID Chip and then announces her because she is Kai’s special guest.

Everyone turns to stare at the disheveled Cinder. She starts making her way toward Kai, but Adri gets to her first. Adri causes even more of a scene by yelling about how Cinder doesn’t belong there. Cinder answers back that she does. Adri goes to smack her, but Kai is there to stop her. He dances with Cinder and apologizes for not being more sensitive about Peony’s death. Cinder realizes he still doesn’t know she is a cyborg. She starts to tell him about the d-comm and Levana’s plans. She asks if there is somewhere they can talk in private.

Torin comes to get Kai. The emperor thanks Cinder for warning him so he can be prepared. Cinder kisses him to try to convince him. The queen comes along and tells Kai that Cinder is a Lunar shell. Cinder admits she is Lunar. Levana demands Cinder is returned to her and blames the shells for the plague. Cinder explains the shells don’t know the damage they are causing. She admits she isn’t a shell. When Kai goes to defend Cinder, Levana points out that keeping a Lunar fugitive from her is an act of war. She asks if he is willing to bargain for Cinder.

Kai says he sin’t willing to trade freedom for peace, so he will not marry Levana. He silently apologizes to Cinder before he agrees to hold her prisoner until the queen returns to Luna. Cinder gets distracted when her cyborg pice of mind shows her what Levana really looks like. When Cinder says something about it, the queen glamours her into taking the gun from the guard that is holding her and putting it to her own head. Just as she is about to pull the trigger, she points it at the ceiling and it goes off. She shakes off Levana’s brainwashing and tries to shoot the queen. A guard jumps between and gets hit in the shoulder. Cinder runs, but falls on the stairs with her cyborg foot coming off. Kai wonders if she used her glamour on him, but she doesn’t have time to explain. Kai orders her held and to be sent back to Luna with Levana. The queen promises not to go to war for this event, but points out Kai has done other things to offend her.

Dr. Erland comes to visit Cinder in her cell. The guard won’t let him in, so he glamours the proper paperwork into the guard’s mind. Once alone, the doctor gives Cinder a new hand (with multiple utilities and weapons) and a new foot he had specially made for her. He tells her he is going to Africa to see if he can study Lunar fugitives that are carriers of the letumosis disease. Cinder tells him she isn’t going to escape because she isn’t worth starting a war over. Dr Erland tells her she is Princess Selene.

Cinder is stunned as he continues. She is overwhelmed and not sure she can handle a hostile takeover of the moon, let alone ruling it. He tells her all she needs to do is escape her cell and meet him in Africa. If she doesn’t, Levana has already won. Dr. Erland leaves and Cinder uses her net-link to do some research. She believes she is Princess Selena. She uses the knife in her new hand to cut out her ID chip. Her cell door was left open.

Sookie holds Claude to his promise and has him start helping her clean out the attic. Since Dermot is following Claude everywhere, he helps as well. They move stuff to the living room to start going through it. Sookie starts a burn pile for the unsalvageable items. At work, she tells Sam about the project. He suggests she talks to a lady that owns an antique shop his girlfriend, Jannalynn, likes. Sookie sees a dark figure run up to the bar and throw a Molotov cocktail through the window. Sam grabs a fire extinguisher while Sookie tries to get everyone to safety. Her apron catches fire, but Sam puts it out. Antoine turns off the kitchen equipment while Sookie tries to help Sam with pitchers of tea and water. By the time the fire department shows up, the fire is out. Sheriff Dearborn and his men start to question them when Eric arrives. Sookie calms him down so she can tell the officers what happened. Afterwards, Eric takes Sookie home where Pam is waiting with a stylist, Immanuel, to fix her singed hair.

Sookie showers and lets Immanuel finish cutting her hair. Tension is high between the vampires, so Sookie tries to change the subject. Pam makes a comment about Eric bing a horrible husband because of all the men in Sookie’s life. He attacks Pam, knocking Sookie off her stool in the process. Immanuel pulls her into the living room and explains Pam is upset because she wants to turn his dying sister into a vampire. Sookie puts an end to the vampire’s squabble by pouring a pitcher of water over them. She shoos them out of the house as Claude and Dermot come home. The next morning, Sam arrives to take her to the antique shop in Shreveport. Sam introduces her to Brenda. After he picks out a present for Jannalynn’s birthday, Brenda makes plans to look through Sookie’s things. On their way to lunch, Remy calls to ask about Sookie watching Hunter for the weekend. Sam points out that she works on Saturday night. When she calls him back after lunch to let him know, he asks Sookie to go with them to visit Hunter’s school he will be starting at in the fall. She agrees. Sam takes her to Hooligan’s (Claude’s strip club in Monroe). They are both surprised to meet an elf at the door. Sookie notices there are only fae around. Sam demands to know why they are strengthening Sookie’s fairy side. They promise to explain at home.

Sam takes Sookie home and she gets ready for work. She talks with Kennedy at Merlot’s. She goes home that night to find Eric wants to take her out for some fun. Immanuel is there to help her get ready for the evening. As Sookie helps Eric get ready, he tells her that victor has forbidden Pam from turning Miriam. He takes her to Victor’s new business, Vampire’s Kiss. Pam meets them there and has obviously been beaten up. Victor’s men wouldn’t let her check the place out before Eric’s arrival. They are led through the busy club to Victor’s VIP section where they have Miriam. Tru Blood is brought for Pam and Eric, but the waiter warns Sookie there is fairy blood in them. She uses the bond to warn Eric. Victor goes on and on about his control over them and they all try not to give anything away. When they leave, the two vampires escorting them out, Luis and Antonio, complain about Victor. Eric brushes them off and they leave. Sookie tells them about the fairy blood. Pam tries to tell Sookie about a letter Eric received, but he stops her. Sookie is furious and has Eric take her home.

The next morning, Sookie confronts Claude and Dermot about what is going on. Dermot admits the Fae War was over her and there aren’t many fae left with the portals closed. Claude tells her Niall left a slit in one to communicate. The fae are stronger when they are around each other, so they have come from everywhere to join Claude in Monroe. Sookie doesn’t believe they are telling the whole truth. Dermot helps Sookie clean the attic. He asks to make it into another bedroom and she agrees. Later, the antique dealers, Brenda and Donald, show up. Donald finds a secret compartment in a desk and Sookie has him open it. She finds a letter inside a dress pattern envelope and it is in Gran’s handwriting. She puts it away to read after the strangers leave.

Sookie goes to work that night and after a few hours, Jack and Lily Leeds (Arkansas detectives that were on Debbie Pelt’s case) sit in her section. Mr. Cataliades (Sandra Pelt’s court ordered guardian) sent them to warn her at that specific time that Sandra is out of jail. Four guys come into the bar for “the blonde” and point in Sookie’s general direction (though they could have meant Lily as well). Jack pulls his gun on the men, and Andy Bellefleur also jumps to action. One shoots Jack. Lily, Sam, and Jannalynn rush to help with the four men. Sookie helps Jack with his wound. When the police arrive, everyone things the men were after Lily, so Sookie avoids any extra questioning.

That night, Sookie wakes up nervous about Sandra Pelt. She calls Mr. Cataliades and leaves a message. She calls Amelia next to see about locating Sandra. Amelia says she will come up (perhaps with Bob) to check the wards around the house and try to find Sandra. Sookie finally opens the pattern envelope to find a letter from Gran. Her grandmother explains that she slept with Fintan because she wanted children. When he died, Mr. Cataliades delivered a cluviel dor for her to use in an emergency. It was to be passed down to Sookie. Sookie is instantly attached to the small object. She put it in her makeup drawer to keep it hidden. She wonders if it is the real reason Claude and Dermot moved in.

The next morning Sookie goes to work. Andy Bellefleur tells her he is having a baby girl and his sister, Portia, is pregnant. Sandra Pelt comes in with a gun in her waistband. She admits she threw in the firebomb and sent the men for Sookie. Sam sneaks a baseball bat over the counter to Terry Bellefleur. He is able to hit her over the head and knock her out. He starts screaming and Sookie goes to comfort him. he is upset that he killed, but Sookie points out that Sandra isn’t dead. He admits he has been spying on Sookie for Eric and Niall. She forgives Terry and helps Sam get him to the couch in his trailer. Back home, Eric asks asks Sookie to move in with him. She starts to explain that she doesn’t want to be a vampire, but Amelia and Bob arrive. Eric leaves and Sookie helps her guests get settled after a long drive. After they are in bed, Bill stops by to talk to Sookie about his “sister’s” unrequited love for him. Judith overhears the conversation and tells him that she is leaving. Bud calls Sookie to let her know Sandra Pelt escaped from the hospital. Bill promises to look after her through the night.

Sookie goes with Remy and Hunter to check out the school in Red Ditch. She encourages Hunter to keep his secret from people. They meet a teacher that has some issues from her own childhood. Sookie pulls her aside and warns her to get help. They go to Dairy Queen after and Remy’s girlfriend, Erin, shows up. Sookie thinks she is a good match for the little family. Sookie goes home and ventures into the woods to find the portal to Faery. She finds it and tells Niall (she’s not sure if he can hear her or not) she misses him. After dinner, Amelia, Bob and Sookie perform the ritual to dissolve the blood bond. Eric calls immediately after to tell Sookie he is furious because that was what was really protecting her.

A few days later, Amelia and Bob go to a movie to give Sookie a chance to meet with Eric alone. When he arrives, they apologize to each other and then have sex on the porch swing. Eric tells a story about Victor making one of his vampires, Chico, eat his human mother’s tongue. He got so sick that he couldn’t help his mom and she died. Sookie suggests they find the waiter, Colton, that warned her about the fairy blood. They follow him home from Vampire’s Kiss. He and his girlfriend, Audrina, agree to talk to them. Colton reveals he is Chico’s half brother. Eric wants to reward Colton for helping him and Pam. Colton says he wants Victor dead.

Sookie spends the night at Eric’s house and then drives home in the morning to find Alcide in her bed. Amelia told him the bond between her and Eric was broken. Jannalynn thought courting her would be the quickest way to get Sookie into the pack (they are still looking for a shaman). Claude suggested Alcide sleep in Sookie’s bed. Sookie explains that she is still with Eric and doesn’t really like the person Alcide has become since taking over the pack. After he leaves, Sookie confronts all of her guests and tells them they have 45 minutes to pack up and leave her house. She finds Dermot on the back porch. He explains he doesn’t have a purpose (and asks her not to make him betray Claude by telling her his). Sookie decides to let Dermot continue his work in the attic. She warns him that vampires will be around that night to stay away. Jason stops by and bonds with Dermot over home improvement before Sookie leaves for work.

By the time Sookie gets off work, there is a storm rolling in. She stops for groceries and gas before heading home. The back door is open and she decides to get out of there. She starts to turn the car around, but a tree falls across the gravel driveway. She gets out of the car and into the rain. A man attacks and she hits him with a jug of milk. She takes of running towards Bill’s house. She takes off her soaked clothes (to not leave tracks) and uses a spare key to get in the house. She finds a door inside the pantry and opens it. She climbs into the pitch black space and closes the door behind her. In a far corner, she finds Bill’s body. Two men, Kelvin and Hod, come through looking for her. Bill wakes up several times due to the overcast weather, but by the time he wakes fully, the men are gone. He goes to check if they are lurking around. He drives her home and they find Dermot in the attic with a bloody head wound. Sookie sends Bill away (with some difficulty) and cleans up Dermot. The fairy wakes up.

Sookie calls Claude’s phone and Bellenos (elf) answers. She explains the situation and he shows up moments later. Bill apologizes for not killing the men before leaving. Bellenos breathes into Dermot to get him well enough to go out and hunt the men. Dermot explains he took down Amelia’s wards with the intent of putting up stronger ones. The two fae leave to get the blood of the one that injured Dermot so he can use it to heal. Sookie cleans up before taking a nap. Eric arrives with Pam and the knock wakes her up. She explains what happened. Dermot and Bellenos return with Kelvin and Hod’s heads. After Sookie gets sick, she starts going through the men’s things. Eric gets a call he has to take. Afterwards, he tells Pam to leave the house. He tells Sookie that Appius arranged a marriage for him to the Queen of Oklahoma. This would not allow him to stay married to her. He has been trying to get out of it, but is having some difficulty. Felipe hasn’t answered his request. Sookie doesn’t understand why he has to uphold a contract his dead maker signed. Bubba, Colton and Audrina arrive and they put the topic aside to discuss killing Victor.

Everyone has different ideas on what they should do. Sookie explains her plan using Bubba. He has bill come over for advice. Once Bill agrees it is a good idea, Bubba is on board. the next morning, Dermot returns. He and Sookie go through a box of pictures and he points out which ones have his twin Fintan instead of her human grandfather, Mitchell. Sookie prepares her house for Tara’s baby shower. She goes to the bar and leaves Sam a loan that she insists he deposits in the bank right away. She stops by Maxine Thorntonberry’s for the punch and leaves her a list of what is already done for the shower. She has all of her bases covered incase she doesn’t make it through Victor’s assassination.

Sam calls Sookie to let her know Amelia called him. She wanted him to tell Sookie to check her email. She does and finds messages from Mr. Cataliades and Amelia. The demon lawyer explains he was friends with Fintan and know her grandmother a little. He know Sookie would be the one to get the cluviel dor (he picked that out of Amelia’s head) when he saw her as a baby. He tells her to be very careful and warns that magic has consequences. She reads Amelia’s email next, who starts off by apologizing profusely before explaining what she learned. The cluviel dor can grant one person wish (nothing global like world hunger). It takes a fairy a very long time to make one and is only given as a token of love. Sookie takes it with her to Fangtasia that night. When she sees Pam, she knows that Miriam has died. All of the other vampires seem to be in good spirits. Bill makes sure Bubba is in a good mood before hiding him in Eric’s office to wait for Victor’s arrival after bar hours. Colton and Audrina are there under the guise of being “donors” for Victor. Immanuel and Eric’s new day-guy (werewolf) are also there. Victor arrives.

Victor makes a show of his arrival with his two humans and several vampire guards. Bubba takes the stage and enthralls the guests while Eric’s vampires get into place. The mood changes when Bubba attempts a fast paced song, but doesn’t seem to have the heart to pull it off. Eric tries to steak Victor in a sneak attack. Victor’s personal guard, Akiro, is faster and stops him with his sword. Bill gets Bubba out of there. Sookie does what she can to help. In the end, Victor flings Eric against the wall, Pam has Victor’s throat in her hands, and Sookie has Akiro’s sword. Sookie is afraid if she swings, she will hurt Pam. Pam tells her to do it.

Sookie doesn’t swing the sword with enough force to cut off Victor’s head. Pam finishes the job. Victor’s entire party is dead. Audrina didn’t survive. Eric and Sookie have an awkward reunion as their reactions to what happened are on separate ends of the spectrum. Sookie offers her blood and he takes some. Bill takes her home and she asks about Eric’s proposed marriage. He confirms that Eric will try to get out of the marriage to the queen of Oklahoma, but it is a good thing she broke their blood bond. Bill had one previously and it did not end well. Sookie goes inside, cleans herself up, and goes to bed.

The guests all have a nice time at Tara’s baby shower. Mr. Cataliades shows up and Sookie talks to him after everyone has left. He explains he was friends with Fintan and decided to give any of his human descendants telepathy if they had the essential spark (open to the idea of other worlds). He didn’t need to see her for it to appear, but he came to check anyway. Sookie avoids talking about Hunter and explains it is more of a burden than a gift. He warns her to keep the cluviel dor a secret from the fae at Hooligans or they will kill her for it. She asks if it can take away her telepathy, but he explains it cannot. He cannot advise her what to do with the wish. He leaves in a hurry because he is being chased. A few moments later, Sookie sees a couple of grey streaks fly past her house after him. Sam calls and says a secret admirer left her a package. She asks him to drop it off. He consults someone before agreeing. Sookie grabs her shotgun and waits in the trees. Sam and Jannalynn arrive with Sandra and her rifle. Sookie shoots Sandra in the arm. Jannalynn attacks the other were. Sam and Sookie help where they can. Jannalynn kills Sandra. They take her body to the portal in the woods and force her through. It sounds like the fae eat her body on the other side. Sam says he will toss the rifle in the woods on his way home. Sookie wonders what will happen next.

About the Blogger

My name is Michelle, and I like to read... a lot. As I read a book, I take notes after each chapter. When I finish the book, I type out a summary and post it in this blog.It has taken me a while to find a process that really works. Some of my older summaries will be short and just summarize the overall plot.